Many viewed this game as “do or die” for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Though it was the Golden State Warriors facing elimination, many doubted whether the Thunder stand much of a chance in a Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
Following Golden State’s 108-101 dismantling of the Thunder in Game 6, we are all on the verge of finding out just what Game 7 holds after all.
The Thunder really unravelled in the fourth quarter, and Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry really got cooking late in the game to pull the Thunder back into it, eventually claiming the lead 104-101 as Klay Thompson buried his 11th three of the game. Thompson’s antics only seemed to spur Curry to try to match, and the “Splash Brothers” looked like themselves at long last.
Let us take a look at the three keys to the Warriors’ win:
1) The Splash Brothers were themselves (and then some?)
Klay Thompson hit just 3 of his first 11 shots of the game, but his persistence paid off to say the very least. Thompson hit 4 of his next 8 to amass 16 points in the first half. But the Warriors still trailed by five at the intermission. Thompson was saving his best for last. He connected on 14 of 30 on the night but hit 11 of 18 from three-point range en route to a playoff career-high 41 points.
Thompson’s exploits seemed to bring out the best in Curry, who hit 6 of 13 from three-point range and came up with two key steals late in regulation to seal the game up. Curry caught Serge Ibaka on a switch and got to the basket to put Golden State ahead 106-101, but then immediately after that Curry stole the inbounds pass, sealing the game up for the Dubs.
2) The Thunder ceased playing team basketball
Perhaps more so than in any game of this series, we saw Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook play “hero ball.”
Durant attempted 19 shots in the first half and made just six of them.
Westbrook finished the night 10 of 27 from the field and had five of the Thunder’s 15 turnovers. Westbrook particularly played out of control late in the game, even forcing an awkward three that drew mostly glass as he tried to initiate contact. He was pressing hard the entire time, and it just was not working.
The Thunder shot 18 of 44 (40 percent) outside of its star tandem, and that just is not going to be enough—especially not with that comprising less than half the team's shots.
Even with backup center Enes Kanter (4 of 5 shooting for eight points) having had a nice game off the bench, Dion Waiters laid an egg in scoring just three points in 36 minutes. The Thunder still need a third major scorer on their roster, because when things are not going well Durant and Westbrook simply try to do far too much. They do not seem to trust their teammates.
3) Andre Iguodala’s defense on Kevin Durant was exceptional
Kevin Durant had his fair share of struggles in the game, but a lot of them can be directly attributed to the defense played by Andre Iguodala. Iguodala forced Durant into some tough looks and turnovers late in the game, and his eight point, seven rebound and three steal effort could not loom much larger.
Iguodala has seemed like the forgotten man at times in this series, but he was last year’s Finals’ MVP. That should not be so quickly forgotten.
Iggy is instrumental in the Dubs’ success and will be needed heavily should Golden State advance to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James in the Finals. For a guy averaging just 8.2 points per game this series, Iguodala has had a tremendous impact once again.
Coming Up
A decisive Game 7 of this Western Conference Finals will be Monday in Oakland, CA at Oracle Arena. The game will be televised at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time on TNT.